In particular, the present invention relates to a bicycle control lever provided with luminous indicator means irremovably associated with the control lever.
The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a bicycle control lever provided with luminous indicator means irremovably associated with the control lever.
Known bicycle control devices comprise one or more manual actuation members, of the lever type, namely rigid bodies actuated with a rotary movement about a pivot or fulcrum, or of the button type, namely actuated with a linear movement, said manual actuation members being actuatable with one finger or with plural fingers. Typically, the manual actuation members are supported by a body suitable for fixing at a grip portion of the handlebars.
In the case of control devices for imparting at least one electrical-electronic command, the manual actuation members typically act on respective electric switches, of the microswitch type, each including a deformable dome-shaped diaphragm. In order to switch the switches, an actuation head fixed to the respective manual actuation member faces the deformable diaphragm in the rest condition of the manual actuation member, and acts by pushing on the deformable diaphragm in the actuation condition of the manual actuation member.
In greater detail, a bicycle typically comprises a rear brake associated with the rear wheel and/or a front brake associated with the front wheel, which are controlled by suitable control devices. Known brake control devices typically comprise a handlebars-fixing-body and a brake lever pivoted to the body to actuate the brake by the traction of an inextensible cable, usually sheathed (Bowden cable), when it is pulled towards the handlebars.
A motion transmission system in a bicycle comprises a chain extending between toothed wheels associated with the axle of the pedal cranks and with the hub of the rear wheel. When there is more than one toothed wheel at at least one of the axle of the pedal cranks and the hub of the rear wheel, and the motion transmission system is therefore provided with a gearshift, a front derailleur and/or a rear derailleur is provided for.
A control device of the front derailleur and a control device of the rear derailleur—or only one of the two in the case of simpler gearshifts—are mounted so as to be easily manoeuvred by the cyclist, usually on the handlebars, close to the handgrips thereof where the brake lever for controlling the brake of the front and rear wheel, respectively, is also located.
Control devices that allow driving both a derailleur in the two directions and a brake are commonly called integrated controls.
Such integrated controls comprise, in particular, a brake lever, a first gearshift lever for example arranged behind the brake lever, and a second gearshift lever for example arranged on a proximal surface of bicycle-fixing-body of the control device, to command an electromechanical derailleur in the two directions.
Hereinbelow and in the subsequent claims, the terms: outer, inner, upper, lower, side, distal and proximal will be used to indicate geometric and structural elements of the control device and of the components comprising it that are thus oriented in the mounted and rest condition thereof and of bicycle handlebars. In particular, the terms distal and proximal are used with reference to the centre of the handlebars. The terms outer and inner are used with reference to the centre of a control device to which the lever is applied, so that the outer side is that most in view, and the inner side is that most hidden, in the mounted condition of the lever.
By convention, the control device of the front derailleur and the brake lever of the front wheel are located close to the left handgrip, and vice-versa the control device of the rear derailleur and the brake lever of the rear wheel are located close to the right handgrip.
Control devices are also known wherein a single lever is capable of rotating about two or three axes to perform two or three functions among the brake control lever function, the upward gearshifting control lever function and the downward gearshifting control lever function.
Specialised racing handlebars are also known, which have two or four bars or ends facing prominently forwards, which allow the cyclist to maintain a position of the torso greatly inclined forwards, which is aerodynamically efficient. With these handlebars, specific control devices are also used, both for the brakes and for the gearshift; these devices are commonly called bar-end since they are indeed housed at the ends of the handlebars, so that the cyclist can actuate them easily without having to change his/her position.
In the case of an electronically servo-assisted gearshift, or in short electronic gearshift, one or two control levers can be used to impart a command to increase the gear ratio and a command to reduce the gear ratio, control electronics that suitably drive the front and/or rear derailleur to actuate each command being provided for.
Moreover, in the case of an electronically servo-assisted gearshift, each derailleur comprises a chain guide element, also called cage, movable to displace the chain among toothed wheels in order to change the gear ratio, and an electromechanical actuator to move the chain guide element. The actuator in turn typically comprises a motor, typically an electric motor, coupled with the chain guide element through a linkage such as an articulated parallelogram, a rack system or a worm screw system, as well as a sensor of the position, speed and/or acceleration of the rotor or of any mobile part downstream of the rotor, down to the chain guide element itself. It is worthwhile noting that slightly different terminology from that used in this context is also in use.
In the case of a mechanical gearshift, the motor is absent and the linkage of the derailleurs is controlled through the traction of an inextensible cable, usually sheathed (Bowden cable), when the gearshifting control lever is actuated.
The present invention applies to all the types of control levers described above, and in principle to any lever suitable for imparting commands to equipments of the bicycle, such as a brake, a derailleur, a so-called cyclecomputer.
In bicycles there may also be control electronics that monitors the state of various sensors of one or more variables such as the travel speed, the cadence of rotation of the pedal cranks, the torque applied to the pedal cranks, the slope of the travel terrain, the heart rate of the cyclist and similar.
In the case of an electronic gearshift, the control electronics can also change the gear ratio automatically based on such detected variables, or aid the manual control of the electronic gearshift.
Luminous indicator devices for a bicycle are also known, for example presence luminous indicators and/or direction luminous indicators.
Such luminous indicator devices typically comprise a presence and/or direction indicator fixed to the front of the bicycle, a presence and/or direction luminous indicator fixed to the back of the bicycle, and on/off means of the front and rear luminous indicators, typically arranged at the handlebars of the bicycle and in electrical connection, via cable or wirelessly, with the front and rear luminous indicators.
JP 3166295 U discloses a control lever of a bicycle brake having luminous indicator means for indicating the position of the bicycle to other vehicles or to pedestrians. The luminous indicator means are preferably fixed directly on the surface of the brake lever, in one embodiment they are fixed in a groove of the brake lever with snap means. The luminous indicator means comprise a substrate with at least one luminous emission element covered by a transparent cover. The brake lever comprises a power supply source of the luminous indicator means, or a power supply source of the luminous indicator means is provided on the body of the bicycle. A switch is provided for between the power supply source and the luminous indicator means. A controller in the power supply source controls the luminous emission pattern.
More specifically, the luminous indicator means are arranged along a part of the distal surface of the brake lever, which in the rest or centralised position of the handlebars faces forwards on the bicycle. A conductor that connects the luminous indicator means to the power supply source is shown through a hole through a portion of the lever.
Starting from such a prior art, the technical problem at the basis of the invention is to provide a bicycle control lever provided with luminous indicator means irremovably associated with the control lever itself in a more practical and effective manner.